Virginia Casino Opponents Concerned with Impact on National Security

Citing concerns about the potential impact of a casino located in Tysons, Virginia, intelligence and defense experts spoke against the proposed plan. The plan to build a Tysons casino in Fairfax County seeks to expand the state’s commercial gaming offering.

Letter Describes Concerns with Tysons Casino Project

Yet, according to more than 100 experts, such development may ultimately pose a national security threat, a new report suggests. The concerns follow the intentions of a Reston-based developer, Comstock Holding Companies, which plans to build a casino in Northern Virginia. Together with supporters of the project, an estimated $2 million is already spent on campaigns that sought raise awareness of the project and seek approval from local lawmakers to help push a casino referendum bill.

Besides pushback from local communities, the project is also opposed by former intelligence and defense experts. As announced by Patch, a letter highlighting the concerns about the potential impact of a Tysons casino was recently sent to all members of the two houses of the Virginia General Assembly, the members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors as well as Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin.

The letter, signed by 109 former intelligence and defense experts was sent by the National Security Leaders for Fairfax, a group opposing the Tyson casino proposal. In the letter, experts highlighted concerns about the impact of the casino in the context of the location that is chosen, an area that is in close proximity of important intelligence agencies, defense structures and contractors, including Lockheed Martin, Boeing, BAE, Man Tech and Leidos, among others.

The Area Represents the Highest Concentration of Federal, Civilian and Military Personnel

Notably, the proposed casino project is near some of the country’s most sensitive national security organizations, the National Counterterrorism Center, the Office of the Director of the National Intelligence, as well as the Central Intelligence Agency, the letter explained.

Those establishments provide work for more than 20,000 federal employees, with most having access to sensitive information about the country’s national security, they added. Equally as concerning is that the proposed casino project is located within a ten-minute drive of those workplaces and the aforementioned intelligence and defense contractors that are vital for the country.

“Within a ten-minute drive or less to such an establishment is a population of over 20,000 federal employees working at our most sensitive national security organizations: the Central Intelligence Agency, the National Counterterrorism Center, and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence,“

the letter sent by National Security Leaders for Fairfax reads

In addition, the group explained that the population working in the area “probably represents the highest concentration of federal, civilian, and military employees with the most sensitive security clearances in the United States, with access to the nation’s most critical intelligence and defense information.” The experts warned that a casino in the area may lead to an increase in criminal activities, including attempts for blackmail, security risks and other threats to national security.